This invention relates to a video game including a foot-actuated control unit which may have the shape of a surfboard. In addition, a portion of the invention relates to an attitude sensing device which determines the tilt angle of the platform, and opens and closes a plurality of electrical contacts enabling a signal input to a computer control unit.
Video game control units, commonly called "joysticks", are well known in the prior art for producing output signals corresponding to the attitude of the joystick, which may be moved along an x-y path to control the movement of a display element on the video terminal. Generally, the control units are adapted to provide signals corresponding to radial movements around a circumference in 45.degree. increments; i.e., from any different location on the screen, the movable figure can move in any of eight different directions depending upon the attitude of the joystick. Generally speaking, joysticks are hand-operated and involve a control element which is movable against a deformable member which permits the element to make contact with one or more switches, thereby permitting completion of a circuit which controls the attitude of the control element. Sometimes the control unit pushes against a series of microswitches installed in the unit causing electrical contact to be made in the manner of pushbutton switch. Frequently, the switches are formed as an array of circuit segments on a printed circuit board. Foot-operated control units are known, and one embodiment of such a unit is found in Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,017. This patent discloses a foot-operated unit resembling a bathroom scale in which movement of the operator's feet serves to tilt the platform to close certain circuit segments on a printed circuit board in the same manner as a hand-operated controller. Another example of a typical hand-operated video controller is disclosed in Guenther, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,935.
Other relevant foot-operated amusement devices include a surfing simulator disclosed in Pifer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,915; this patent shows a surfboard mounted above a base and suspended by fore and aft mounted pairs of coil springs. An exercising device consisting of a balance board supported by an inverted dome, with a plurality of ground-supported damping members made from foam rubber used to resist tilting of the platform, is disclosed in Francke, U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,318.
In its broadest sense, the invention contemplates a video game in which the game player is able to move a figure of a surfer on a video screen by standing on a simulated surfboard and moving the board with his feet; movements of the board from side to side and forward and backward are translated instantaneously to corresponding movements of the surfboard shown on the video screen, allowing the surfing figure to be maneuvered around obstacles, and up and down waves. Key to the operation of the video game controller is the suspension system, which consists of a ground-supported inverted dome which is used as a fulcrum for movement of the board to simulate the movement of a surfboard, and a biasing system consisting of a doughnut-shaped, resilient member mounted annularly around the fulcrum.
Another key element of the system is an attitude sensor/switch which mounts to the controller and substantially instantaneously senses the tilt attitude of the board, and closes one or more switches to activate circuitry which communicates the attitude to the computer. This control device consists of a gravity-actuated switch member which tilts along with the board and engages one or more of a plurality of electrical contacts located around the periphery of the attitude-sensing unit. This sensor is very simple and inexpensive to build, has only one moving part, and is very durable. This switch eliminates the constant destructive pressure needed to generate conventional control units that often collapses switches, fractures circuit boards, and wears contact points. The teetering of the copper pendulum is dependent only on its own weight and the attitude of the board. The controller of the invention is also extremely responsive, permitting very rapid response for controlling character movement. This factor is attributable to the very small "throw" or distance between the pendulum and the contacts, allowing very rapid making and breaking of switch connections an a very smooth movement of the display member on the terminal screen.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for a video surfing game which is actuated by a game player moving his feet along a simulated surfboard. It is another object of the invention to provide a suspension system for a foot-activated video game controller which is inexpensive and durable, yet accurate. It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a sensor unit for automatically determining the tilt attitude of a platform by gravity, and for closing one or more switches to activate circuitry to translate the movement of the board along an x-y plane to a video screen. These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by means of the system of the invention, a detailed description of which follows herein.